Nomenclature
Teeth are named by their set, arch, class, type, and side. Teeth can belong to one of two sets of teeth: primary ("baby") teeth or permanent teeth. Often, "deciduous" may be used in place of "primary", and "adult" may be used for "permanent". "Succedaneous" refers to those teeth of the permanent dentition that replace primary teeth (incisors, canines, and premolars of the permanent dentition). Succedaneous would refer to these teeth as a group. Further, the name depends upon which arch the tooth is found in. The term, "maxillary", is given to teeth in the upper jaw and "mandibular" to those in the lower jaw. There are four classes of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. Premolars are found only in permanent teeth; there are no premolars in deciduous teeth. Within each class, teeth may be classified into different traits. Incisors are divided further into central and lateral incisors. Among premolars and molars, there are 1st and 2nd premolars, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd molars. The side of the mouth in which a tooth is found may also be included in the name. For example, a specific name for a tooth may be "primary maxillary left lateral incisor."
Read more about this topic: Dental Anatomy, Identification